I will start a thread and hopefully others will post specific info as well and maybe we can put - in one place - all the different hoist ideas. How do you hoist your plane for float changes and maintenance?

Here is what I did for a Supercub ..........

I have a set of Wipline 2100A amphibious floats. One of the first things I had to do to install the floats was get a hoist setup. Then I had to make a spreader bar for the hoist and also get a hoist. Here is what I did and what I learned.I purchased a 3/16 thick by 2" square 3 foot long steel tube from the local steel supply company. 14 Bucks. I purchased a Gibralter Shoulder eyebolt # 73108219 from McMaster-Carr (MSC Supply). This is for the center of the lift bar that the hoist attaches to. This eyebolt is rated at 5000 pounds with a safety factor of 5X. Then I purchased two eyebolts # 73108144 for the ends. These attach to the lift rings on the Cub Via 1/2" quick links part # 67785606. I also got two eyebolts for the Cub # 73108144 rated at 1400 pounds each, again with a 5X safety factor.

I did a little homework on the net and I don't think you want to get a Harbor Freight Hoist. I went to a company called CM and as best as I can tell they make a good hoist (actually they have several lines/grades), and I got the Hurricane (Line/series) Hoist. Cost about 320 bucks. Then I had to make sure the rafters in the hangar would support all this so I had a civil engineer look at my hangar truss system and run some stress analysis to make sure I was not going to pull the hangar down when I lift the Cub. Then I mounted a 4X6 beam in the rafters, per the engineers recommendation, to attach the hoist to. Whew. Takes a lot of work to mount the floats.

My good friend Lytle helping hoist it up. An electric hoist would be nice but since this only gets used once or twice a year it is hard to justify the extra cost. This system works quite well. Be sure to protect your windshield!!

Friends of mine use a very similar system. We tie safety ropes to wing tie downs and anchor to something heavy on each side . We have had aircraft roll to one side and of course if fuel tanks aren't full or empty fuel runs moves in tanks and makes roll worse.

"Still dreaming and hoping to die young at heart with a bar room story that will close the place"

This is what the hoist looks like when not in use. The bucket holds the chain and just clips into the hook. Easy to take down and free up the chain.

Not the best picture but the hoist is a CM (Columbus-McKinnon)Hurricane Chain hoist 1 ton model #5627A with a 15' chain/lift.

This is what the eyebolt and quick links look like. Part numbers are in the post above. I got my bar 36" long for possible future use on a different airplane, or if a friend needs it for his XXX airplane.

If someone else/others can chip in with exactly (part #'s, model #'s, metal size, thickness etc) we can put together a resource for a new float guy to reference when he needs to build up a hoist. I struggled for many hours because I could not find ANY info on what others had done.

I am making my own, and given my Sedan has an empty weight over 1500 pounds, so I have to get the next size up.

What I'm having issues with is identifying if a 2" by 2" by 1/4" tubing would hold. Many of the links and tables of load capacity suggest that it would work, remember my "spread" is 52", making the distance from the center point to each eye 26" . Similar to what you did, I'm putting a 1/2" hole in the middle which will degrade the strength. It looks like 3" by 3" 1/4" would work for sure.

If anyone has any ideas on this it would be appreciated. I don't have to be 5X on the strength, just want to be safe with my 1600 pounds+ of airframe and fuel.

My brother is a bridge engineer for the state of Alaska and he told me they have a policy to beef it up by a factor of ten any time weight is not a factor. There is always weak points that are over looked so do everything you can to over build when you can. It only takes one weak link in the chain to ruin your day.

2x2 1/4 inch thick would probably lift a Beaver with full fuel. I am not an engineer but there are a couple of internet sites that allow you to plug in numbers and figure out the load calculations of a "beam". I remember that my 2 X 2 at 3/16 inch thick was going to have a safety factor of about 20. i.e. way overkill. Also, the elasticity is such that the beam will bend rather than snap so if you see it deflecting (bending) excessively when lifting, it is easy to just lower it back down. I guess what I am saying, and I'm sure you know this, is that the airplane will not fall off the hoist. Things will bend up there, and permanently deform, after the "modulus of elasticity" has been exceeded, but it will not break. I think 1/4 inch thick material will be excellent.Hope this helps

I did talk to an engineer friend who is a pilot also. He looked up 2X2 by 1/4" and for my 1600 pound plane, on which the distance between the lift eyes is 52", the material is borderline. For comparison, a cub is 29.5" between the eyelets! It is further compromised if I were to drill a 1/2" hole in he middle for the center eyelet.

Soooo, we're making some adjustments, the middle 2' will have a 2" by 1/4" thick bar welded to it vertically, as well as a short (6") piece of 3.8 rod welded above the lift hole for strength. This should make it much more sturdy.

OAL is 54" with my lifting holes 1" from the end (for the Sedan) and 12 1/4" inches in from the end (for cubs) Both holes will be reinforced with tubing welded in so the eyelet cannot crush it, although good luck crushing a 2X2 by 14" thick square tubing!

Thanks for the info. Please post exactly what you do when you get to that point. It sure helps others. I did not realize your lift points were that far apart. My bad. A side by side airplane is a lot wider that a Cub. Duh..... As you point out, having them that far apart radically changes the length of the beam. Sound like your hoist is coming along.

My post wasn't meant to criticize anyone, I just wanted to add something. I thought 2x2x1/4 would be SUPER STRONG, but my engineer buddy said it was borderline, he used #2000 for his calcuations, and the Sedan is approx #1400 with fuel/oil, so I imagine it might work under normal circumstances.

Here's the pics of the in progress work!

No critiques on my amateur welding

I'll be using the same shouldered eye's. mine are rated at #1400 each, should be ok?

cubdriver2 wrote:That 2x2 tube is fine, if you want to beef it up to make you feel better truss the top with some 1/2" rebar or weld a 1/4 x 2 strap perpendicular down the top center with your lift hole in the middle

Glenn

I read it Glenn! I just found this forum topic AFTER I started working on it and doing some calculations, Nice to see we came to the same conclusion!

Looks good. If you add another 2" strap full length or a foot on each end to the bottom with a 1/2" hole drilled every inch you can use the chain repair link ( stronger and cheaper then eye ) and it will be adjustable in case your buddies need to borrow it